Cape Verde will try to surprise again when they face Uruguay in Group H.
Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral warns Uruguay: The historic draw against Spain has given the tournament debutants “more faith in ourselves”.
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An outstanding defensive effort and a memorable performance from goalkeeper Vozinha ensured that Cape Verde held the European champions to a 0-0 draw and secured their first ever World Cup point.
Now they face Uruguay – and the chances of repeating the feat are considered slim. But full-back Cabral makes it clear that Cape Verde has big ambitions and is not just happy with a draw against Spain.
When asked if the opening match had given Cape Verde more hope, Cabral replied:
“No hope. Before we came here, we had a goal. The goal is to advance from the group stage. This game gave us more power, more belief in ourselves. We know our qualities, and we know what we are doing.”
Uruguay must deliver – the pressure is mounting
Uruguay were unable to capitalise on Spain’s blunder and take control of Group H. Marcelo Bielsa’s men had to recover from a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia.
Maxi Araújo equalised in the 80th minute and secured a point – but the performance was weak, and the pressure on Bielsa is increasing.
With a match against Spain in the last group stage, Uruguay have zero room for error. Another shock result could send the two-time world champions out of the tournament early.
Team news: No injuries – but Bielsa can rotate
Neither Uruguay nor Cape Verde have injury problems.
Bielsa may consider changing his attack after Darwin Núñez struggled against Saudi Arabia.
Predicted line-ups
Uruguay (XI): Muslera – Varela, Cáceres, Olivera, Sanabria – Valverde, Bentancur, Ugarte, Araújo – Canobbio, Núñez
Cape Verde (XI): Vozinha – Moreira, Borges, Lopes, S. Cabral – Duarte, Lenini, Monteiro – Mendes, Livramento, J. Cabral
Key figures – Uruguay vs. Cape Verde
- This will be the first meeting between Uruguay and Cape Verde.
- Cape Verde have lost both of their previous two games against CONMEBOL opponents.
- Uruguay have only lost one of their last nine group games at the World Cup.
- These nine games have a total of just 15 goals.
- Uruguay are winless in their last five matches – Cape Verde are unbeaten in their last four.
- Cape Verde have not conceded a goal in 311 minutes of play. The last time they were conceded was in a friendly match against Finland in March.
- Uruguay are unbeaten in five World Cup matches against African teams (three wins, two draws).
Our prediction: Tough job for Uruguay
With few goals in Uruguay’s games, there is reason to believe that Cape Verde can deliver another solid defensive effort. Still, the South Americans are expected to find a path to victory.
Tip: Uruguay 1-0 Cape Verde
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